Pakistan faces FATF grilling in Bangkok, 125 question-test for Imran

Trouble mounted on Pakistan on Monday as the team from Pakistan was questioned in Bangkok in the face to face meeting with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) regarding the terror-financing. As the questioning began on Monday in Bangkok, team from Pakistan answered 125 questions by the FATF. The task force committee will also evaluate Pakistan's compliance on its 27-point action plan in Bangkok. The team from Pakistan is attempting to make efforts to exclude Pakistan's name from grey list of the FATF. Imran Khan also faced global defeat when financial watchdog Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) Asia-Pacific division put Pakistan in an "enhanced blacklist".

The team from Pakistan includes 20 members led by Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Hammad Azhardia and a few members from the Federal Investigation Agency, State Bank of Pakistan, Federal Board of Revenue, Anti Narcotics Force and intelligent agencies. A crucial meeting ahead of the October FATF Plenary in Paris, when Pakistan's progress and listing will be reviewed. The plenary and working group meetings of the task force is scheduled for October 13-18 in Paris.

Pakistan team to meet with FATF on terror financing in Bangkok

The Asia-Pacific Group of the global financial watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) placed Pakistan in the "enhanced blacklist" for its inaction against terror funding perpetrating on its soil. This development came a day after Pakistan submitted its compliance report on its 27-point action plan to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in hope to for a possible exit from the grey list. However, APG (Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering) placed Pakistan in the Enhanced Expedited Follow Up List (Black List) for failure to meet its standards, after FATF found Pakistan non-compliant on 32 of 40 compliance parameters on money laundering and terror financing.

"The APG has placed Pakistan in the Enhanced Expedited Follow Up List (Black List) for failure to meet its standards," an Indian official said in the development.

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FATF APG Meeting

Furthermore, on 11 effectiveness parameters, Pakistan was adjudged as Low as 10. The FATF APG meeting was held in Canberra, Australia and the discussions lasted over seven hours over two days. APG is the regional affiliate of the FATF and its decisions have a large bearing on the organisation’s decisions on Pakistan. Now, Pakistan has to focus on avoiding the Black List in October 2019, when the 15-month timeline ends on FATF's 27-point Action plan. The global watchdog, earlier in June, had asked the Imran Khan government to curb terror financing by October or face actions. Pakistan was asked to take action against UN-designated terrorists including Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar, who are operating on its soil. 

If Pakistan will stay on the greylist or is blacklisted, it will be facing a financial downgrade and restrictions on its markets. It will also have a tough time managing capital inflows from IMF (International Monetary Fund) and other agencies. This would also include servicing its debt that adds up to about 25% of the government’s revenues at present. 

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